Another large bowl, this time from a big chunk of live oak that's been sitting around in the Texas sun on my driveway for several years. After making it round on the bandsaw it was about 16" across and wound up at 14" wide and 4.5" tall. Live Oak is extremely hard and dense and I had to resharpen my bowl gouge about every 5 minutes or so. Some intermediate turning shots:
I lost a big piece due to a bark inclusion so I had to turn it down another inch or so. Fortunately I was not standing in the line of fire when it flew off.
Flipped it around to start hollowing. Lots of shavings.
Most of the shaping is done.
I left a little of the bark inclusion because I like the way it looks.
Time to fill the cracks and worm holes with some brass and epoxy. The brass powder is mixed into a 30 minute epoxy to the point that it becomes like a putty and you just press it into cracks and holes. It is at this point that you wonder if you just ruined it with some drab green epoxy. Fortunately after sanding away the excess and polishing, the brass starts to shine. I sanded to 1000 grit and then polished and finished with Ack's sanding pasting and finishing wax which gives the wood a nice rich color.
A few close ups of the brass inlay
I made this for a Texas Forestry Association auction that raises money for forestry education programs around the state.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Very nice! I’ve tried the brass epoxy thing once or twice, but I never get it to shine up. Maybe I don’t polish it enough? Yours looks great! Nicely done.
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
If you don’t add enough of the brass powder it does look like snot. You need to add enough so that the epoxy has the consistency of a thick putty. I recommend at least a 30 minute epoxy to make sure you have time to mix and apply it before it starts to set.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Live oak is very dense and when freashly cut and wet is denser than water. I think that only desert iron wood and lignum vitae have a harder janka hardness ratings of native North American trees. I remember reading somewhere that live oak was the wood that made cannon balls bounce off of Old Ironside. As long as your gouges are sharp it actually cuts pretty nicely. It can be a little boring when freshly cut but with a few years of aging on my driveway, the grain takes on some interesting tones.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Nice job Nathan. I think it's very cool looking, do you have any idea what it weighs? That is a big bowl, it must be nice to have access to large pieces of lumber.
I did not weigh it before after turning and before I gave it away but it was pretty heavy -- probably at least 3 pounds finished. Southern live oak is pretty heavy as it is one of the densest woods that grows native in the US. This particular large chunk came from a tree that my neighbor had removed a few years ago. I sliced it in half immediately after I got it to reduce the cracking as it dried. That tree was probably over 2 feet across at the base, though I think that this came from one of the smaller branches. I recently milled the other half of the chunk into boards for other uses.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
